Family Magic
by LSUsweetie
Summary: Hermione is finally given a coveted Weasley jumper. Why does she suddenly develop feelings for a certain redhead when she puts it on?


Notes:

This was written for Weasleys, Witches, Writers Pumpkin and Ginger Fest. Special thanks to my amazing alpha, Roo O Joy, and my fabulous beta, RebellaReadie.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. This was written only for fun, not profit.

Prompt: For Christmas the previous year, Hermione finally received her very own Weasley jumper. She noticed that when she wore it, she felt closer to the Weasleys than ever. She even found herself paying attention to a certain Weasley brother that she'd never noticed, in that way, before. During the summer, she had forgotten about the strange feelings she had when wearing the jumper. Putting it on for the first time this fall, the feelings were back and Hermione vowed to figure out what was going on.

XxX

31 August 2014

Fred looked up as the entire group of Weasley grandchildren trudged into the sitting room of the Burrow wearing sullen expressions on their faces. They had been chased inside by a sudden downpour. He watched, amused as the leader of the group, Rose, spotted him sitting there. Seeing him, her favorite uncle, of course, her demeanor immediately began to change and soon, she wore a brilliant smile. Fred smiled back at her as she hopped into his lap and demanded, "Uncle Fred, tell us the story of the Weasley jumpers!" Glancing around, he noticed some of the older children rolling their eyes in mock disgust before taking a seat nearby to listen to the tale that they had heard countless times.

Clearing his throat dramatically, Fred looked across the room to where Hermione sat knitting this year's batch of Weasley jumpers with his mum. Catching her eye, he winked before turning back to the children to begin the story.

As he recounted the story, Fred covertly watched Hermione's reaction. He looked on as she took in the eager faces of her children, nieces, and nephews and saw immediately when she began to dreamily stare off into space. Knowing instantly that she was thinking back to the events that had occurred nearly fifteen years before. The events that were now family legend.

XxX

5 September 1999

Standing in front of her wardrobe on the first cool autumn day, Hermione reached in and grabbed a jumper and a pair of worn jeans at random. It was a Sunday and she had plans to curl up with a new book until it was time to head to the Burrow for the Weasley family's weekly dinner. Not paying attention to what she had selected, she pulled the jumper over her head and gasped in shock as soon as it touched her bare skin. Immediately, she berated herself for forgetting about this particular jumper.

Quickly removing the offending garment, she stood there staring at the pale blue jumper in her hands. Letting her mind wander, she drifted back to the previous Christmas when she'd been gifted the jumper. It was the first Christmas since Voldemort's defeat and everyone was still recovering in their own way. Hermione had returned to finish school after the war was over and the Weasleys invited her to spend Christmas with them. Mrs. Weasley explained that while they were all still grieving the losses that they had sustained during the war they had so much to be thankful for and she wanted them to spend the holiday together. Hermione was thrilled to receive the invitation as she hadn't been able to restore her parents' memories and they were still living in Australia, unaware that they had a daughter.

She recalled the feeling of delight when Mrs. Weasley presented her with the lumpy package. Though she had known the Weasleys for years, she hadn't yet been gifted a jumper. Upon opening the package and confirming what she suspected was inside, her eyes had welled with happy tears. Only to be replaced by shock when she pulled the jumper on for the first time. Immediately, she was overwhelmed by an onslaught of sensations. First, came an encompassing sense of being loved and accepted by the entire Weasley family. That feeling was understandable, this was a concrete symbol of belonging to their family. It was the second feeling that confused and frightened her.

Palms sweating, heart racing, she took a moment, coaching herself to calm down before wide-eyed, she looked around and saw the knowing smiles on the faces of everyone around her. Those smiles only added to her distress. Mind racing, she ran through some possible scenarios. What did they know? Was she left out of some inside joke? What, exactly was causing her to experience this? Was the jumper somehow to blame? Could this be one of Fred and George's pranks?

Glancing over at Fred, she saw that he was watching her intently. He was already wearing his jumper and she noticed that he was looking at her oddly, wearing a small smile and wistful expression. When their eyes met, her breath hitched and she felt as if she had a million butterflies fluttering in her stomach. It was a nice feeling, but she didn't understand why it had come on so suddenly, and why it happened when she put the jumper on. Quickly looking away, unable to stand the eye contact any longer, she missed the hopeful look that Fred shot George and the encouraging smile and nod from his twin.

Could this be some kind of love potion? She didn't think so. There was no noticeable smell of Amortentia and she didn't think that love potions would have any effect if absorbed through the skin. Also, if she was honest, she really didn't think that Fred would do something like that now. The war and a near-death experience had changed him. He still enjoyed jokes and pranks, but he was kinder and more serious than before. No, understanding how much he had changed, she couldn't really believe that he had done something. There was simply no good explanation for what was going on. Why did she suddenly have romantic feelings for him? She had never thought of him that way before, had she?

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Hermione hadn't wanted to remove the jumper that she had wished for, during so many previous Christmases. She didn't want to appear rude or that she was rejecting what she was being offered. Unfortunately, she hadn't been able to relax, constantly analyzing every interaction, especially those with Fred. Had he always touched her that much? The first time it happened, it caught her completely off guard. She'd been standing there talking to Ginny and Harry when Fred approached. Honestly, she didn't have a clue about what he'd said to them. The casual brush of his hand against her arm had left her breathless and unable to focus on anything else. It had been a serious struggle to stop herself from grabbing him and snogging him senseless. After a few long moments, she finally began to come to her senses. As she did, she risked a quick glance in Fred's direction and noticed the smug smirk on his face. He obviously noticed how he was affecting her and the bloody git was enjoying it! What was that about?

Finally, with her heart beating out of her chest and a rushing sound filling her ears, she decided that she couldn't take it anymore. She told everyone that she was exhausted and wished them a Happy Christmas before fleeing to the relative safety of the small room that she was sharing with Ginny. Once the door was closed, she was finally able to take off the jumper and begin to sort through the jumble of emotions. Feigning sleep when Ginny finally came to bed, so that she could be alone with her thoughts, Hermione tossed and turned most of the night, going over and over everything in her head. As she lay there, she analyzed every interaction she'd had with Fred that day. Once he'd realized that she was reacting to his proximity and touch it seemed like he was constantly next to her and shamelessly touching her, brushing an arm against her, bumping her with his hip, placing a hand on her arm or back, or even throwing an arm around her shoulders and drawing her in for a one-armed hug. With each brush of his body, her reaction had seemed to grow in intensity. Instead of growing used to him being around, she was more affected each time. However, she did notice that as the day wore on, his smugness disappeared and slowly turned to what looked like worry, or maybe even sadness. Could he be disappointed that the spell, potion, or whatever was going on with this jumper didn't work? Was she wrong in her assumption that he had changed too much to do something so cruel? Finally, mentally and emotionally exhausted, she fell into a fitful sleep and woke the next morning tired and still confused.

That morning, Hermione purposefully avoided wearing the jumper. Unfortunately, even without it, she felt drawn to Fred and to a lesser degree, the breathlessness, sweaty palms, butterflies in her stomach were still there, especially when there was physical contact between them. She was thankful that since it was Boxing Day, he and George were only around for breakfast before heading in to open their shop for the busy shopping day.

She continued to feel conflicted and confused about what caused those feelings. Was it the jumper? They didn't begin until she put it on, but they were, admittedly still there when she wasn't wearing it. Deciding to test her theory, she strategically planned when she would wear the jumper. She wore it one day when Fred wasn't going to be visiting the Burrow, then she wore it again one day when he would be there. Then, continuing her impromptu research, she didn't wear it one day when he was around and to her dismay, and complete confusion, his touch continued to create an obvious reaction. It wasn't as distracting or overwhelming as when she was wearing the jumper, but her body reacted nonetheless, and to be quite honest, she was beginning to enjoy the physical reactions even though the emotional response still scared the hell out of her.

Finally, the holiday ended and Hermione returned to Hogwarts. Once there, she threw herself into studying for her NEWTS and completely forgot about the turmoil caused by the lovely jumper. When school ended, she got herself a little flat and began working for the Ministry of Magic in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. The jumper had been forgotten, until now...

Hermione's musings came to a halt when she realized that she had been standing in front of her open wardrobe for at least 10 minutes. Placing the garment back inside, she decided then that she had to know what was going on. She couldn't push the feelings away and ignore them like she'd done this past winter.

Mind made up, she dressed quickly and did something completely un-Hermione-like. There was a way to get some of the answers that she needed. On impulse, she apparated directly into Harry and Ginny's home. She knew that it was wrong to turn up in their house when they were both away, but she didn't want to answer the questions that they would have if they knew why she wanted access to their wardrobe. No, she told herself, this was the perfect opportunity. Harry was away on an Auror assignment, and Ginny had a game today. She wasn't doing anything wrong. She would just pop in and have a look at their jumpers.

She was so wrapped up with those thoughts that she failed to see the figure lounging on the sofa in the sitting room as she practically ran into the master bedroom. Quickly rummaging through the wardrobe, she grabbed one of Harry's Weasley jumpers. She swiftly divested herself of her shirt and threw the jumper over her head. As soon as it touched her bare skin, she was overcome with the same emotions that she felt while wearing her jumper. Tearing off Harry's jumper, she replaced it with one of Ginny's and had the same experience.

More confused than ever, she put the wardrobe back to rights and walked out of the bedroom and into the sitting room. As she prepared to apparate home, a voice brought her out of her reverie. "Hermione, what are you doing here?"

Not expecting anyone to be there, she spun around quickly, hand going for her wand. She drew up short and instead clutched at her chest when she saw Harry sitting there, watching her with obvious amusement. "Oh, Harry, you startled me! I didn't think you were home."

Raising his eyebrows at her avoidance of his question, he replied, "That was clear when you rushed past the first time." Noting her embarrassment, he smirked and continued, "Our mission wrapped up earlier than expected. I just got home about 15 minutes ago. Now," he said, patting the cushion next to him, "come and sit. Tell me what's going on."

With a deep sigh, Hermione obeyed. She sat next to Harry and began to explain how the Weasley jumper made her feel when she wore it. When she finished her explanation, she finally got the courage to look at Harry. She was worried that he would be angry at the violation of his trust. Instead, she saw that he wore a huge grin on his face. "Harry James, this is serious, something strange is going on," she admonished him. "Have you experienced this? How did you feel when you received your first Weasley jumper?"

"Hermione, I promise, nothing out of the ordinary is going on. I can't tell you everything. You have to figure some of it out for yourself, but I promise that everything is perfectly normal, in fact, it's better than normal, it's wonderful." Continuing to smile brightly at her, he went on, "To answer your question, when I first put on a Weasley jumper, I was overcome by the feelings of familial love. However, if you recall, that Christmas was the first time I could remember that I had actually been given any gifts, or shown any love at all."

"But, you only felt familial love? No feelings for Ginny?"

"Hermione, I was only eleven. Of course, I didn't feel anything for Gin. That didn't happen until 6th year. You know that," retorted Harry.

"Did you first notice your feelings for her while wearing a Weasley jumper?" shot back Hermione, determined to get the answers that she needed.

Harry shook his head at her, laughing a little at her persistence, "Nope, I wasn't. Now, that's all I can tell you. You're going to have to get any other answers for yourself, or go and talk to Mrs. Weasley. She can give you more answers than I can."

Seeing the expression on Hermione's face, and knowing that she was the type of person who didn't fare well with unanswered questions Harry grabbed her hand to stop her from leaving and told her, "Don't let any of this upset you. You are feeling all of those things for an amazing reason. I promise that it's truly a good thing. Don't let this eat at you. Go with your gut feeling and ignore those nagging thoughts. Trust yourself and what you feel and everything will work out perfectly."

Hermione went home, just as confused and frustrated as she had been before she went to Harry's. The conversation that they had only annoyed her, because he wouldn't give her anything more than cryptic answers. Telling someone else to trust their gut was fine and good, but he knew her better than that. Why would he tell her, of all people, something like that? She needed facts, not feelings.

That evening, she avoided the Burrow. She felt a little guilty, but she was too conflicted to be around everyone. Having discovered that Harry and Ginny's jumpers caused the same reaction as her own had both reassured her and caused further confusion. Clearly it was something that was standard to all of the jumpers, but what was it and why did it cause her to react physically and emotionally to Fred. No, she reasoned, trying to assuage her guilt, it was necessary for her to get her thoughts in order before she visited with the whole family again. Instead, she spent the evening pouring through her books, trying to find something, anything that would be a possible explanation for what she was experiencing.

The day after her visit to Harry's she arrived at work, deciding that she would not think about any of this again until the weekend. She needed to be fully focused on her job. Dropping her bag, she sat down with a sigh and noticed it. There on her desk was a paper coffee cup, and a bag holding a chocolate biscotti. Both were marked with the name of the coffee shop that she preferred in muggle London. Thinking that this was Harry's way of apologizing for the way he handled their conversation the day before, she drank deeply from the cup of hot liquid, happy to discover that it was a vanilla latte, her favorite. With a happy sigh, she shifted to sit the cup back on her desk and saw the note that had been tucked underneath. Picking it up, she read...

_With Love From, Your Not-So-Secret Admirer_

With a shaking hand and those damn butterflies in her stomach, she dropped the note back on her desk. Who could have left this? She knew who she wanted it to be from. No, where did that come from, she admonished herself. Then she remembered the instructions from Harry to trust her gut and she really allowed herself to consider what she had been feeling. Had she felt this way before the jumper? If she was completely honest with herself, she'd had a tiny crush on Fred for years. She had never allowed herself to think about him that way because she was convinced that he would never think about her like that. Sure, he was always flirty and always seemed to be touching her, but that was just how he was with all women, wasn't it? He was just that fun, friendly, flirty guy and she wasn't his type at all.

Realizing that she had spent the last twenty minutes arguing with herself inside her own head, she finished the rest of the latte and tossed the cup in the trash. She resolved to put this out of her mind until the end of the workday. However, the day proved longer than expected. Her boss had come to her, irate, under the assumption that she had caused a major issue. Hermione pointed out that she had, in fact, attempted to point out the error before it became a problem, but she had been ignored, as usual. Unfortunately, the coworker who had actually been responsible for the mistake was out of the office on holiday and she was forced to do damage control. It had made for a long day and when she finally made it home, she took a quick shower before collapsing, exhausted into her bed. Thoughts of the sweet gift, completely forgotten.

The next day, she arrived at work to find another treat on her desk. This time it was a small box of fancy chocolate truffles, accompanied by the same note. Once again, she refused to allow herself to contemplate the situation. Instead, she pushed the chocolates into her bag and told herself that she would spend time thinking through everything when she got home.

Later that evening, Hermione pulled the chocolates from her bag and poured herself a glass of wine. Retrieving the jumper from her wardrobe, she put it on and sat on her sofa indulging in the wine and delicious chocolates. Relaxing, she forced herself to focus on the feelings that she had while wearing the jumper. It was disconcerting until she remembered Harry's words and tried her best to go with her gut feelings and stop overthinking things. Soon, she was overwhelmed by the onslaught of emotions. Instead of pushing them away, or trying to discover why she felt them, she allowed herself to pay attention to how the attraction to Fred made her feel. Once she calmed herself down and accepted that she was, in fact, attracted to him, she realized that instead of feeling anxious, she felt happy, comfortable, and safe.

The next few days were much the same. Wednesday, there was a lovely bottle of scented bath oils. On Thursday, there was a cup of hot chocolate. Both times, there was a note with the same message as before. When Friday came, she was actually a little disappointed when she arrived at work and found nothing on her desk. Chastising herself for her momentary dismay, she got right to work. Just before lunchtime, she was surprised to see a small brown owl fly in carrying a bag from her favorite deli. Opening the bag after giving the little owl a treat, she was thrilled to see that inside was exactly what she would have ordered for herself had she gone out to lunch, a club sandwich and cheddar cheese crisps. Sitting back, she enjoyed her lunch while thinking that she really did need to stop hiding and actually get some answers soon. Avoiding the Burrow was cowardly, she knew, but she wasn't sure that she was ready to go back this week either. She really needed to get herself together, it wasn't somewhere she could avoid forever.

The gifts kept coming. Saturday, a bottle of her favorite wine was delivered to her flat. Sunday, it was the latest book from an author that she loved. Deciding that she wasn't quite ready to face everyone for dinner, she curled up with the novel instead. She was already halfway through when Harry came through the floo carrying a plate of food from Molly. He told her that he had been instructed to bring her the meal and to tell her that everyone missed her and hoped that she would make it next Sunday.

Immediately, Hermione felt awful. She was avoiding people who loved her, and who she loved in return because she was frightened of her feelings. Looking up at Harry shamefully, she asked him to thank Molly for the delicious meal and to let her know that she would be there the following Sunday. Harry nodded, kissed her on the cheek and whispered that everything would be fine if she would just stop thinking so hard. Smiling cheekily, he stepped through the floo and was gone before she could respond to his smart remark.

The next week was more of the same. Every day, she received a little gift, always something that showed how much the sender had paid close attention to her preferences. As the weekend approached, Hermione acknowledged that she was nervous, but she wouldn't let that keep her away any longer.

On Sunday, Hermione arrived at the Burrow, still feeling very unsure. Entering the Weasley's comfortable home, she looked around in confusion. There was no one to be seen. As many times as she had been here, it had never been empty.

Exiting the kitchen and walking into the sitting room, searching for everyone, she spotted Mrs. Weasley. The matriarch was sitting with her back to the door, knitting a jumper, seemingly oblivious to Hermione's presence.

Before Hermione could announce her arrival, she saw Molly carefully place the now finished jumper across her lap as she drew out her wand. Hermione had to stifle a gasp as she heard Molly speak an incantation while waving her wand over the jumper in a complex pattern, "Agape, Eros, Philia,Quae Sunt Familia Weasley."

Eyes wide, Hermione began to slowly and quietly back out of the room, mind racing. She was trying and failing, to process what she had just witnessed. Suddenly, Molly addressed her without turning around, "Hermione, dear, I know that you are there and that you have questions. Come and sit with me. I'll tell you everything that you want to know."

Hesitantly, she moved forward to do as she had been told. Speechless for once, Hermione took the proffered seat and looked expectantly at Molly. The older woman smiled kindly and reached over to take Hermione's trembling hand in her own. "Dear, I know that you are confused and worried about what you are feeling and wondering about the spell that you just saw me cast."

Hermione nodded and Molly continued, "I can imagine that you are wondering if the spell that I use on the jumpers is influencing your emotions." Smiling, she continued, "Knowing you, I'll hazard a guess that you will also want to know what it does."

Hearing Hermione's whispered, "Yes," Molly responded earnestly, "Sweetheart, that spell only magnifies what is already there. It's the reason that I don't give jumpers to just anyone. Literally translated, it means unconditional love, romantic love, affectionate love, belonging to the family of Weasley. It's part of the Weasley family's magic and the knowledge of how to use the spell is passed down from generation to generation."

With this admission, Hermione picked her head up and met the gaze of the older woman. Still needing answers, she waited for Mrs. Weasley to continue. Molly grasped her hand comfortingly and said, "Before we could gift you a jumper, our family magic had to accept you and one of our children had to express a genuine interest in a lasting relationship with you."

This confused Hermione even more, thinking quickly, she asked, "But... what about Harry?"

Smiling, Molly replied, "Harry was a special case. He was a child who had no family. The family magic could accept him without romantic ties. It was a kind of magical adoption, not legal of course, but our family magic accepted him as one of us. You had a family already, so that wasn't an option with you. Although I was certain that you would one day be family." She paused, laughing a bit to herself before adding quietly, "I had the wrong son in mind all along."

Hermione drew in a deep breath, "Now I understand the family part, and why I felt such an encompassing sense of love from the entire Weasley clan, but why did I suddenly develop feelings for Fred? He and I have never seen each other like that before."

"Never, dear? Are you saying that you didn't have any interest in him before you received that jumper?"

Hermione chewed on her bottom lip nervously before admitting, "Well, I've always found him attractive and I enjoy spending time around him. I recently realized that I did have a small crush on him, but I guess I haven't allowed myself to consider it because I always thought that he wouldn't be interested in someone like me."

"Someone like you? Dear, any wizard would be lucky to be with you. What exactly do you mean?"

"I.. I.. I was always the swotty, bookish girl who didn't think that someone outgoing and fun-loving could ever be interested in me. I've seen the kinds of girls that he was interested in at Hogwarts, and I was not that type at all."

Eyes sparkling, Molly replied, "So, you admit that there was interest there on your part, you were simply afraid that it wasn't mutual so you repressed your feelings."

Turning slightly red, Hermione nodded and began to fidget. "Yes, I guess that's true. I still don't understand how the jumper could take that and make it so much more."

Smiling broadly now, Molly patted her hand, "Well, my dear, that is what makes Weasley family magic so special. Those spells will only allow you to feel things that are mutual, and the strength of the emotions is directly correlated to the feelings of the people involved. Now, I won't say anything more. The rest is for you and Fred to discuss. He's waiting for you out in the garden. I'm quite sure that he's grown incredibly impatient by now. Don't keep him waiting any longer."

At this announcement, Hermione felt her heart begin to race. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she hugged Mrs. Weasley and thanked her for explaining everything. Nervously, she left the room to go find Fred and see what he wanted to say.

Hermione exited the Burrow and made her way into the garden. Looking around, she saw Fred in the distance, his red hair not as obvious as usual amongst the autumn trees. Slowly, breathing in the fresh air to settle her nerves, she walked toward him. As she approached, he gave her an anxious smile. Somehow it calmed her to see that he was obviously as nervous as she.

Flashing him a bright smile, she spoke quietly, "Hi."

"Hi," whispered Fred, "Hermione, I...I'm so sorry if all of this has worried you. I wanted to talk to you, but I wasn't sure how to do it without scaring you away," he paused, sighing deeply and scrubbing at his face with his hands. "Gods, I didn't expect this to be so hard. I'm not usually at a loss for words, but somehow around you, I forget how to speak."

Looking up into his eyes, and noting the sincerity there, she reached out and gently touched his arm. "Fred, I have been confused, more confused about this than anything I've ever experienced. Your mum told me a little about the family magic, but she didn't explain anything about you and how you came to be involved in all of this. She said that what I felt while wearing the jumper, was connected to your feelings, but I don't understand why."

Fred nodded, still looking nervous, drawing in a breath, he said, "Can we sit? This is going to be a long story," he gestured toward a blanket that was spread out on the ground under the tree.

Hermione nodded, and the pair sat. Hermione waited patiently until Fred finally began his explanation. "When we were old enough, mum and dad sat us down and explained the magic behind the jumpers. They told us that one day when we found the person that we wanted to spend our lives with that we should bring them home to see if the family magic would accept them. Once the magic accepted them, there was a sure way to discover if the match was true, to see if their feelings were as strong as ours." Fred paused and waited to see if Hermione was understanding the implications of his words. He saw her chew on her lip, contemplating what she had just heard before a small gasp escaped her lips and she lifted her head to meet his gaze.

"Fred," she whispered, "what are you saying? You can't mean... Why me? Why haven't you ever said anything before? Why did you spring all of this on me like this?"

Fred reached out and took her hand, a look of hesitancy and uncertainty on his face. She saw his smile and heard the relieved sigh when she shifted her hand to lace her fingers through his. Seemingly bolstered by her reassuring gesture, he admitted, "Hermione, honestly, I have fancied you for years. I didn't say anything before, because... well, would you have taken me seriously? Would you have believed that I was interested in you, or would you have thought that I was making some kind of joke or playing a mean prank? I did very nearly ask you out once. I wanted to ask you to the Yule Ball more than anything. I was planning to do that, then I overheard you and Gin discussing the fact that Krum had asked you. I was devastated. That's why I waited so long to get a date. That's why I asked Angie the way I did. I couldn't go with the one girl I wanted, so I had to settle. Seeing you with him that night and seeing how beautiful you looked, dressed up for him. Well, let's just say that I wasn't the best date in the world. I spent far too much of the evening watching you. George already knew at that point, and by the end of the night, both Angie and Katie knew as well. They had a grand time taking the mickey about that."

Hermione stared, speechless at this confession. Shaking her head, she said, "I had no idea. To be honest, I would have preferred you as a date to Victor. I had a terrible crush on you but I kept telling myself that you couldn't possibly be interested in me." Gazing up into his eyes, she sighed and admitted, "If you had confessed your interest, or asked me out I probably wouldn't have thought that you were being serious. You're right, I most likely would have thought that it was a prank or that you were making fun of me.

After her admission, Fred withdrew his hand from her grasp causing her heart to drop into her stomach. Thankfully, he immediately calmed her irrational moment of distress by putting his arm around her and pulling her close to his side before saying, "After the war, I realized that life is far too short to wait for what you know you want. I was afraid that if I made an attempt and it didn't work out that I would lose you forever, so I went to mum and asked her to knit you a jumper for Christmas. When I did, she cried and told me that the magic had accepted you long ago and she had just been waiting for one of us to ask her to make you the jumper. She admitted that she hadn't expected it to be me but she was thrilled that it was."

Hermione allowed herself to cuddle into his embrace, enjoying the weight of his strong arm wrapped around her. She was thoughtful for a moment then asked, "Why didn't you talk to me after Christmas?"

Fred chuckled at this, "Anyone could see that you were extremely alarmed by what you were feeling when you put that jumper on. I talked to Harry and Ginny that night after you fled to Gin's room and they advised me to let you work everything out for yourself. They told me to be patient and wait until you were ready. So, I waited, not so patiently. Honestly, it's been nearly a year. The jumper let me know that you returned my feelings but I was afraid that you would never allow yourself to act upon what you felt. I was terrified that I had made the wrong decision by gifting you the jumper before talking to you. This past year... well, it's been a bit rough."

"Oh Fred, I'm so sorry. I wish that I hadn't been so thick. Sometimes, my mind is too logical for my own good. Harry and Ginny were right though. They gave you good advice. It probably would have taken me much longer to get to this point if you had tried to explain things on Christmas Day. I was just too conflicted at that point." She laughed quietly to herself and at Fred's inquisitive look she replied, "It took me breaking into Harry and Ginny's place and trying on their jumpers to finally come to a point that I was ready to consider what I was feeling might be genuine and not forced in some way."

"Thank the gods that Harry was home that day. He came right over and we had a family meeting on what to do next. That's when we decided to let you have space to think it all through, but that I should let you know that you were on my mind in a way that wasn't likely to scare you. That's when I decided to go the not-so-secret admirer route."

Hermione smiled and nudged Fred playfully with her shoulder, "You did good with that, by the way. You've clearly paid attention to the things that I like. Thanks for that."

"I've just admitted that I've had feelings for you for years. Watching you, and learning those little things about you was one of my favorite things to do."

Suddenly, Fred's gaze was intense. Hermione's heart rate increased slightly as she met his eyes. He leaned in slightly and murmured, "I really, really want to kiss you right now, please say that I can kiss you."

Hermione chewed on her lip nervously but nodded her consent. Fred closed the distance and brushed her lips with his, lightly at first then he deepened it as she sighed against his mouth. Moving closer, seeking more contact, they were soon twined around each other. Hermione couldn't think, couldn't breathe, all she could do was enjoy the sensations that enveloped her as they moved their lips together. Finally, they broke apart, both breathing heavily, leaning against each other for support. When Hermione was able to form a somewhat coherent thought, she breathed out, "Wow, that was..."

"Amazing, miraculous, wonderful, perfect, fantastic... yeah, all of that," finished Fred with a pleased smirk on his face.

XxX

Fred ended the story and looked around. The children, despite the feigned disinterest of some, had all been listening intently. He kissed Rose on the cheek before shooing her off his lap, glancing across the room, he caught Hermione's eye and beckoned her to join him. As she approached, he grabbed her hips and pulled her into his lap. Rolling her eyes at his predictability, she settled against his chest and gave him a kiss. He smiled and caressed her rounded middle. She was due any day with their fourth child. They'd thought they were done having children. Their oldest child, Catherine, was 12. She had started to Hogwarts the previous year and would leave for her second year on the Hogwart's Express tomorrow. The middle two were 8-year-old twins, Granger and Finn, who had been trouble since the day they were born. After the twins, they had decided that their family was complete, however, this little one had other ideas. That was fine with Fred. He couldn't be happier. Their life together was just about perfect and the Weasley's always had enough love to share with one more child.


End file.
